1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dregs/juice separation apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus suitable for multiple food stuffs for separating dregs and juice to allow easy subsequent processes on the dregs and juice after separation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional juicing, vegetables and fruits are placed into a juicing device and juiced, and the juice and the dregs coexist in a container. After juicing, the dregs are separated from the juice. A type of the juicing device includes a filter to allow the juice to flow therethrough, and the dregs can be removed after juicing.
FIG. 1 shows a circulating/pulverizing food processor disclosed in Taiwan Utility Model Publication No. M350321. The food processor 9 includes a cutter 91 rotating at a high speed in a guiding tube 92. Foodstuffs including beans, cereals, mixed grains, or vegetables submersed in a liquid in a container 93 are continuously sucked into the guiding tube 92 together with the liquid and are pulverized by the cutter 91 rotating at the high speed. Pulverized foodstuffs are guided into the container 93 via holes 94 in the guiding tube 92, achieving the juicing purpose. Furthermore, the food processor 9 includes a heating element 95 to cook soybean milk or cereal juice. The food processor 9 further includes function keys 96 operable to drive the cutter 91 without activating the heating element 95 for simple juicing purposes.
The food processor 9 can integrate the juicing device and the cooking device as a single machine while allowing functional selections of juicing/cooking operation or simple juicing operation. However, the food processor 9 requires high speed rotation of the cutter 91 in the guiding tube 92 to continuously suck the juice mixed with beans, cereals, mixed grains, or vegetables in the container 93 into the guiding tube 92 for pulverization by the cutter 91 rotating at the high speed. However, an additional sieve is required to separate the dregs from the juice.
Furthermore, the guiding tube 92 has an open bottom, such that the dregs of the beans, cereals, and mixed grains can not be filtered and are, thus, cooked together with the juice during cooking. Thus, the dregs become slimy and adhere to the cutter 91, the guiding tube 92, the container 93 and the heating element 95, causing difficulties in and inconvenience to cleaning. Furthermore, since the dregs are not removed before cooking, the dregs adhered to the heating element 95 are continuously heated at a high temperature and, thus, cooked. As a result, the cooked juice smells burnt, adversely affecting the taste and quality of the juice.
FIG. 2 shows a dregs/juice separation apparatus disclosed in Taiwan Patent Publication No. 201238540 for fixing the disadvantages of the above circulating/pulverizing food processor. The dregs/juice separation apparatus 8 includes a base 81, a container 82 and a dreg collecting member 83. The base 81 includes a power element 811 for driving a shaft 812 to rotate. The shaft 812 includes a threaded portion 813 and an actuating portion 814. The container 82 includes an opening 821 for coupling with the base 81. The container 82 can receive or collect liquid and juice. The dreg collecting member 83 is made of a material permeable to the liquid and includes a shaft tube 831 and a rotational member 832. The shaft tube 831 includes an inner thread 833 threadedly engaged with and disengageable from the threaded portion 813 of the shaft 812. The rotational member 832 can rotate relative to the shaft 812 or engage with the actuating portion 814 of the shaft 812 by an engagement portion 834 to allow synchronous rotation.
By such an arrangement, when the power element 811 drives the shaft 812 to rotate in a first direction, the dreg collecting member 83 moves downward relative to the shaft 812 due to provision of the inner thread 833, causing the engagement portion 834 of the rotational member 832 to engage with the actuating portion 814 of the shaft 812. Thus, the rotational member 832 rotates together with the shaft 812 to cut or pulverize the objects to be processed. If the power element 811 drives the shaft 812 to rotate in a second direction, the engagement portion 834 of the rotational member 832 disengages from the actuating portion 814 of the shaft 812, causing an upper end of the inner thread 833 of the shaft tube 831 to engage with the threaded portion 813 of the shaft 812. Thus, the dreg collecting member 83 moves upward relative to the shaft 812 and rotates to create a centrifugal force to throw the juice out of the dreg collecting member 83, separating the dregs from the juice.
The above dregs/juice separation apparatus avoids the disadvantages of the conventional circulating/pulverizing food processor and, thus, provides use convenience. The present invention provides a novel dregs/juice separation apparatus for providing an enhanced separation effect.